Secret Banff Meeting of CEOs and the Defense Establishment : Militarization and the Deconstruction of North America

Cabinet ministers, top military brass together with North America’s top corporate executives mingle in the plush surroundings of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

This secret venue on “Continental Prosperity in the New Security Environment” focused on “Deep Integration,” which largely consists in flushing national sovereignty in favor of “Fortress North America”.

According to the draft program (see below), Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld traveled to Banff, Alberta to deliver the keynote address on “military to military cooperation”. Canada’s Minister of Public Security Stockwell Day focused his address on issues of North American public security.

Top brass from the US and Canada were in attendance. Canada’s Minister of Defense Gordon O’Connor was present together with Chief of Defense Staff, General Rick Hellier.

There was, however, no confirmation that Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper attended the meetings.

On the US side, several of Rumsfeld’s top policy advisers were present alongside a handful of researchers and consultants.

The commander of US NorthCom Admiral Tim Keating was also in attendance with several of his senior staff members. Keating is also Commander of NORAD, which is slated to be merged with US NorthCom.

Deep Integration

“Deep Integration” was first enunciated by “The Independent Task Force for North America”, led on the Canadian side by former Liberal deputy prime minister, John Manley together with Tom Aquino, president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives. The task force led by US, Canadian and Mexican officials was sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

“D’Aquino and his partners in a corporate task force, former deputy prime minister John Manley and former finance minister Michael Wilson, tell us that by integrating ever more into the U.S. we will somehow guarantee our prosperity, creating fortress North America to compete with China, Europe, and other competitors.” (Murray Dobbin, April 2005)

Both Aquino and Manley are participants in the Banff venue, which essentially constitutes a follow-up to the CFR sponsored initiative. Another central theme of the Banff conference is the integration of military command structures, which could eventually lead to the scrapping of NORAD and the integration of Canada into US Northern Command.(Chossudovsky, November 2004)

The Banff venue was co-chaired by George Shultz, a staunch Republican, former Secretary of State to President Ronald Reagan who later became president and director of Bechtel corporation.

George Shultz

Top execs from the military-industrial complex and the oil companies were present including Lockheed Martin, Chevron, Mexico’s PEMEX and Suncor Energy.

Top officials and policy analysts from the military’s research labs and thinks tanks including Livermore were invited to integrate several of the specialized panels.

The meetings focused on the interrelationship between North American defense systems, militarization, national security, borders, immigration, military production and the control over North America’s energy reserves.

The venue had more to do with profit driven militarization than “continental prosperity” .

No journalists, no press releases, no commentary which might inform public opinion, a total media blackout: The program of this venue, which was a carefully guarded State secret was first revealed by Canadian author and politician Mel Hurtig on an internet posting :

Thought you would like to see this. They’re at it again. The sellouts, the usual suspects.

September 12th to 14th, at the Banff Springs Hotel, a conference on North American Integration.

Among the long list of those who will be there are Perrin Beatty, Peter Lougheed, Thomas d’Aquino, Stockwell Day, Wendy Dobson, Roger Gibbins, John Manley, Anne McLellan, Gordon O’Connor, James Schlesinger, Donald Rumsfeld, George Shultz and a long list of others.

Among the topics: “A Vision for North America”, “A North American Energy Strategy”, “Demographic and Social Dimensions of North American Integration”, “Opportunities for Security Cooperation”.

Erratum: a previous version of this text indicated the presence of Five Star Generals at the meeting. This statement was incorrect. Admiral T. Keating and General Rick Hillier are not Five Star Generals.

ANNEX

The list of participants and the draft program dated respectively August 31st and September 1st, were sent out on email lists. [we were not able to verify the accuracy of this draft program and whether all the confirmed participants attended the venue]

NORTH AMERICAN FORUM CONFIRMED PARTICIPANTS (Internal Document, Not for Public Release)

Moderator: Dr. Thomas A. Shannon, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Panelists: Robert Pastor, Director, Center for North American Studies, American University Roger Gibbins, President & CEO, Canada West Foundation Andrés Rozental, Mexican Council on Foreign Relations

11:00 am SESSION VII: ROUNDTABLE CONVERSATION WITH THE CO-CHAIRS Location: Alhambra Room Moderator: Jane Wales, President and CEO, World Affairs Council of Northern California Presenters: George Shultz, Co-Chair, North American Forum Peter Lougheed, Co-Chair, North American Forum Pedro Aspe, Co-Chair, North American Forum

Moderator: Jane Wales, President and CEO, World Affairs Council of Northern California Presenters: George Shultz, Co-Chair, North American Forum Peter Lougheed, Co-Chair, North American Forum Pedro Aspe, Co-Chair, North American Forum

About the author:

Michel Chossudovsky is an award-winning author, Professor of Economics (emeritus) at the University of Ottawa, Founder and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), Montreal, Editor of Global Research. He has taught as visiting professor in Western Europe, Southeast Asia, the Pacific and Latin America. He has served as economic adviser to governments of developing countries and has acted as a consultant for several international organizations. He is the author of eleven books including The Globalization of Poverty and The New World Order (2003), America’s “War on Terrorism” (2005), The Global Economic Crisis, The Great Depression of the Twenty-first Century (2009) (Editor), Towards a World War III Scenario: The Dangers of Nuclear War (2011), The Globalization of War, America's Long War against Humanity (2015). He is a contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. His writings have been published into more than twenty languages. In 2014, he was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit of the Republic of Serbia for his writings on NATO's war of aggression on Yugoslavia. He can be reached at [email protected]

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